The Windsor Essex Catholic District School Board has a new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor with seven years experience.
Michael Regis was hired to help develop programs within the school board to make it more inclusive.
"For me, it really means providing agency to everybody in equity, diversity and inclusion, and providing voice as everybody being part of the process. So, it's fair treatment for diverse groups within the organization," said Regis.
He is also helping the board create a human rights policy that will complement the Ontario Human Rights Code.
"A policy and concern process, essentially, sets the direction, and defines expectations for us within the board, and it demonstrates our commitment towards equity, diversity and inclusion quite strongly by having these policies in place," said Regis.
Prior to coming to Windsor, Regis worked in similar roles at the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan and at Indigenous Services Canada.
“We’ve always placed a very high premium on being an inclusive school board where our staff and students feel safe, respected and welcome,” said Emelda Byrne, Director of Education. “However, we acknowledge that we still have significant work to do in order to meet the expectations we have set for ourselves. We recently established an Equity Action Plan for our board which outlines some very specific goals, and we believe Michael will play an instrumental role in implementing that plan."